Little Things
by KittenRainbow
Summary: Sometimes, when accidents happen, you may want to turn small and run away from them. In this case, Wolfie Mario does it literally. But sometimes...that won't really work. Read and review, and hope you like it!


It was just like any other day in the Mushroom Kingdom (where hardly anything normal happens). All the Toads were happily strolling through their little village, casually bouncing in the way that only a Toad (and possibly Pinkie Pie) can. The flowers were in full bloom, with the bees and butterflies racing to retrieve and collect some of their sweet nectar, in hopes to make some delicious golden honey. The sky, as usual, was a vibrant azure color, with the occasional white cloud floating high.

And in Peach's Castle, a certain little wolfie was playing in the corridors...

* * *

"And now, the contestants for our flying race!" Mario was saying. We have Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Derpy racing for the gold and prize in our race to the Land of the Living Room!"

The little wolf held up a tiny toy model of Rainbow Dash and set her neatly on the floor, next to a black-and-white ruler. Then he picked up some toy models of Fluttershy and Derpy and set them next to the spectrum-maned Pegasus.

"_But Rainbow Dash, what if the Living Room really is a room that's __living__ and __breathing__?" _he said in a Fluttershy-like voice, pretending that the shy Pegasus was speaking. (It was quite easy of him to imitate her voice, given the fact that he, too, was shy and naive.)

"_Nah, I just think that the Living Room is a really cool place with lots of sofas and plush rugs and antique valuables! Plus, I heard it has a giant flat-screen TV the size of Canterlot!_" Rainbow Dash "replied".

"_Oh, wow!_" Fluttershy gasped in her quiet voice. "_I hope we can win this race, it would be so nice to see the Living Room!_"

"_Not only that, it_ _would be awesome to win that big prize!_" Rainbow Dash added excitedly. "_I could buy a new radical helmet for Tank and get some cool new cloud furniture in my place._"

Mario made the two talking ponies turn towards the toy model of Derpy, who hadn't "said" anything yet. "_That's weird, Derpy hasn't spoken a word at all since this morning,_" Rainbow Dash said in a somewhat suspicious voice.

"_Derpy, are you okay?_" Fluttershy asked worriedly, moving a bit closer toward the cross-eyed Pegasus. Her long bubblegum-colored tail swished gracefully across the floor as she moved toward her friend.

Suddenly, while humming a dramatic song, Mario quickly replaced Derpy with a larger toy model of Queen Chrysalis. "Oh, no, it's the Queen of the dreaded Changelings!" he said in his normal voice (pretending to be the announcer of the "race").

"_Mwahaha!_" Queen Chrysalis laughed. "_Forget about that prize, silly ponies, it belongs to me! And when I'm done with you, I'll have two more Changelings to add to my army of slaves!_" She started heading towards the two ponies.

"_Fly, Fluttershy! Fly!" _Rainbow Dash yelped. Mario stood up, taking the two ponies in one hand and Queen Chrysalis in the other, and started to run through the hallway, holding them up.

"It looks like the race has started, but they're flying really fast!" Mario said as himself, trying to pick up the speed. "Oh, no! Queen Chrysalis is shooting her lasers at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!" He made laser-shooting noises as he pretended lasers were coming at the flying ponies.

"_It looks like we're doing a Sonic Rainboom, Fluttershy!_" Rainbow Dash said to her friend.

"_B-But, I can't fly th-that fast, Rainbow Dash!_" Fluttershy cried, flapping her butter-colored wings as fast as they could muster. "_My wing speed is too little!_"

Rainbow Dash quickly held on to Fluttershy. "_Don't worry, I gotcha!_" she said.

"_You'll never get away from me!_" Queen Chrysalis shouted, getting closer and closer to the two.

Mario was up the toys in hand, preparing for Rainbow Dash to do her grand Sonic Rainboom. Unfortunately, this meant he wasn't watching where he was going. He stumbled on a hidden fold that had risen from the plush carpet, and bumped into a pedestal that supported a pretty-looking crystal vase. The delicate ornament toppled from its perch and slipped to the floor, shattering into tiny shards.

"Oh, no!" Mario cried. He ran over to the broken remains of the vase (minding his step) and gathered all the bigger pieces together. He was wondering if he could put it back together when he suddenly heard voices quickly coming from the hallway.

"That sounded like the crystal turquoise vase breaking!" Mario heard Luigi say.

"Oh, heavens no, not that vase!" Toadsworth said in disdain. "That was an extremely valuable heirloom from Peach's father! If someone shattered it, they are going to be in _big_ trouble!"

Mario was scared when he heard the word "trouble". Trouble meant punishment, which could lead to...other dreadful things! The little wolf knew he had to get away, but how?

Suddenly, Mario remembered that something was in his pocket. When he reached into it and pulled it out, he realized he had somehow stowed away a blue Mini Mushroom. That was it! He could take the mushroom, shrink down, and escape before anyone saw him!

Without another thought, the little wolf immediately ate the Mini Mushroom and promptly shrunk down until he was almost four inches tall. Then he quickly ran over to a pillar that stuck out of the corner in the wall and hid there.

No sooner that he had concealed himself from sight, Toadsworth and Luigi arrived at the scene.

Toadsworth's eyes widened with shock as he took in the sight of the broken vase. "Oh, who could have done such a thing, breaking one of the last surviving heirlooms from Peach's father?" he cried, a bit too dramatically.

Luigi looked around the hallway, not seeing anyone. "Hmm...whoever it was, they're long gone now. Maybe it was an accident," he commented.

"Perhaps, but still!" Toadsworth said, his hands wringing anxiously. "I want to know who had done this, whether or not this was an accident." His expression turned a bit more serious. "However, if it was an accident, I don't suppose the culprit would simply sprint off. He or she would stay here and inform us, wouldn't they?"

"I guess so..." Luigi replied.

Meanwhile, the mini wolfie was watching the scene unfold from his place behind the folded pillar. He was still scared that he was going to get in trouble, so he didn't come out. One thought echoed over and over in his mind, and that was to get out of there as soon as possible, before he was discovered.

As soon as Toadsworth and Luigi had turned away a little, Mario made his move and ran from the pillar to another room.

* * *

Mario soon found out that when you're almost four inches tall, running becomes a bit more difficult. It took longer for him to run from the scene of the so-called "crime" to a room that he might find safety in. As he enter the now-larger place, he noticed that it was Luigi's room. Well, no matter. He could hide out in here until the coast was absolutely clear, then he could run back to his room and get a Super Mushroom to return to normal size (otherwise he would remain tiny).

Mario ran to the blue-and green blanket on Luigi's bed, got a good grip, and started to climb it. He might as well find a comfy hiding place to stay, after all.

It turned out that blanket-climbing was just like rock-climbing, only the surface was softer and more slippery. A couple of long minutes flew by before the mini wolfie could successfully plant his feet on the flat surface of the bed. He then took shelter between the edge of the soft blanket and the pillow. He'd be safe here, he hoped.

After what seemed to be a long while, Mario was close to dozing off when his sensitive wolf ears heard footsteps heading toward this room. He gasped and made sure he was securely nestled between the soft fabric, hoping to remain undetected.

* * *

Luigi walked in, closing the door behind him. He kicked off his chocolate-colored boots and strolled over to the bed.

_I wonder who did break that vase..._ he thought. _Toadsworth seemed pretty shook up about it..._

He walked over to the drawer next to his bed and placed something there. When Mario looked a bit closer, he saw that it was the toy models of the three Pegasi he had been racing with.

"I wonder who left these ponies here?" Luigi asked himself. "It's a good chance that whoever broke the vase must have been playing with them." He stretched, wanting to take a short nap, and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes.

Suddenly, a loud wolf-like squeal was heard, and Luigi jumped out of bed, landing on the floor quite roughly. Was that a rodent he almost squished...?!

His heart racing out of anxiety and fear, Luigi quickly grasped the blankets and yanked them off, expecting to see a mouse or something.

He was _very_ surprised to see his miniature brother.

"Mario, what on earth are you doing in my bed?" Luigi asked incredulously, somehow fighting the urge to laugh out of spite. "And why are you so tiny?" Reaching over, he gently picked up the mini wolfie, who could now literally fit in the palm of his gloved hand.

"I...I, uh...used a M-Mini Mushroom..." Mario said in a tiny voice that sounded high-pitched. A little red blush began to form on his cheeks.

"A Mini Mushroom," Luigi repeated, a stern look on his face. His brother could be so naive sometimes. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is to shrink down to your size and be out in the open like that? What if someone stepped on you? You could have gotten hurt!" he scolded.

"I-I'm sorry, Weegee..." Mario lamented in a weak voice, feeling ashamed. His cheeks were now burning hot.

However, Luigi, feeling the need to play the mothering role, wasn't finished. "You have to be more careful! The next thing you know, you could bump into that vase in that hallway and break it! Or-" He stopped when he saw the look of recognition on his brother's face. "Mario? Do you know something you're not telling me?"

At this, the mini wolfie immediately broke down and started to cry in Luigi's hand. "It w-was an accident...!" he sobbed.

"What was?" Luigi asked, although he was pretty sure that he knew the answer already.

"The vase! I broke the vase!" Mario admitted, burying his face in his hands as he cried. His little body was trembling with both fear and anxiety. "I-I'm so sorry, Weegee! I didn't see...wh-where I was going...and I couldn't s-stop it from falling! A-And when Toadsworth mentioned th-that whoever did it...was in trouble, I-I got scared and just hid...! Please don't tell Toadsworth, I don't want to get punished!" Mario stopped talking as a fresh round of sobs erupted from his throat.

Now, Luigi was caught between two things. On one hand, he wanted to scold Mario for running away and not telling him and Toadsworth what had happened, as well as running around avidly while in the effects of the Mini Mushroom. But when his fingers curled up a bit and touched his brother's back, he saw just how bad his little body was shaking out of fear. No, punishment would not help; it would only scare him more.

"Shhh, it's okay, Mario. Don't cry," he said soothingly to the crying wolfie. He gently cupped him with both hands and hugged him very gently to his chest, being careful not to squeeze him too much.

"I-I'm so sorry, Weegee...!" Mario said again, his throat choking up.

"It's fine, Mario, you didn't mean to," Luigi said reassuringly. He wanted to wipe his brother's tears away, but he was afraid his finger might hurt Mario's eyes. Instead, he leaned over and took a tissue from the tissue box on his drawer and handed it to him. "Here, use this," he said in a gentle voice.

The mini wolfie took the tissue (which seemed like the size of bed sheets to him) and wiped his eyes. Then he looked up timidly at his brother. "Th-Thank you, Weegee..."

"No problem at all, Bro, I'm just glad you told me the truth," Luigi replied.

Mario wiped his teary eyes again before looking up once more, a new fear rising. "B-But what will Toadsworth say?"

Luigi gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry, I don't think he'll say anything," he replied lightly as he stood up with his brother in hand. He started heading for the door, ready to look for a Super Mushroom to restore the mini wolfie back to his normal size. "This can be our little secret."


End file.
